Surprising Love

Authors note:

There is something I need to tell you people before you start reading. Asuka will be a little out of character, or a lot depending on your point of view, but as the story goes I'll try to keep her in character as much as possible but we'll see. Now read and enjoy, and Shinji might be as well but I'll try my best promise! One more thing this maybe kinda weird but its going to set place before, during and after second impact, if you know what I mean. Because I haven't seen anything other than the original 26 episodes so I have don't know a dang thing about 3rd impact other than it occurs so yeah. You guys know where I am going with this now enough with this bloody authors note and on with the story!

Chapter 1: New School

Disclaimer: NGE doesn't belong to me.

A car slowly pulled up into the school drop off zone. Its red paint glinting in the sun's light. The passenger door opened and a young red haired girl stepped out her dull blue eyes eyeing her new school wearily. So this is where I'm going to be now? Great. She thought sarcastically. She then looked down at what appeared to be an endless pool of students with weary as well.

Slamming the car door shut she then turning to the car. Bending down she peered through the window and looked at the young purpled haired driver.

"Bye Misato." She said her voice dull, somewhat angry.

"Bye Asuka." She replied. With that Asuka turned on her heel and walked away, disappearing in the endless crowd of students, Misato watching her until her bright red hair was lost from view. She sighed heavily. "Please let Asuka be okay, and help her find someone that'll be there for her." She then looked up and said, "Please?" Lowering her head she turned to the crowd of kids once again for a second before looking forward and stepping on the gas.

Asuka shoved her way through the crowd causing several to yell at her. She ignored them and continued forward shoving a tall, athletic boy out of her way.

"Hey watch where you're going!" He yelled, pushing her as she walked past him.

Asuka stumbled for a second before catching her balance and turning to him. "Then maybe you shouldn't stand in the way of people!" She yelled back, her dull blue eyes suddenly turning sharp and angry. The guy froze for a second before turning away with a humph and walking away.

Asuka laughed inwardly. Pathetic. She thought.

Continuing forward Asuka pushed her way through more kids, causing several more remarks to be thrown at her, until finally she reached the main entrance door. Grabbing the handle she swung the door open and was met with a chilling breeze. She shivered somewhat and walked inside.

She looked around and was surprised to find that the hallway was practically empty. So that would explain why the school seems so packed, everyone is outside. She shivered again and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. No wonder, its so freaking cold in here. She thought.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small sheet of paper, a list of numbers displayed on it. "So first period is room 006." She said quietly to herself. Looking up she began walking forward and scanned the numbers of each classroom she walked past.

She looked for several minutes her eyes, drifting back and forth as she looked from one classroom to the next until she finally found it. Reaching for the handle she suddenly found it pulled out of her reach and found herself face to face with a young, brown haired girl. Asuka stared at her for a second before a hand was placed in front of her.

"Hi, you must be Asuka." The girl said her voice kind and sweet. "My name is Hikari."

A look of confusion passed over Asuka's face. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm class representative, so I usually like to know who is coming and going." A look of understanding replaced Asuka's confused one.

"Oh okay." She said and took Hikari's hand. Hikari smiled at her. "So then if your class rep, do you know where my seat is?" Hikari nodded.

"It's the one right behind that boy over there." She replied pointing to a young blacked haired boy, who was currently engaged in a conversation with a brown haired boy with large glasses and a familiar athletic boy. "Shinji could you please raise your hand?" she asked. He complied. "Right behind him Asuka."

"Thank you." Asuka replied.

"Your welcome." Hikari said. "Thank you Shinji!"

"Your welcome." He replied quietly before turning away from her and rejoining the conversation.

Asuka pulled her school bag off her shoulder and sat down. She sighed heavily as she looked around the classroom only to find it was still half empty. She looked up at the clock to find that she still had ten minutes till class started. She grumbled under her breath.

And Misato said I would be late. She thought to herself. I could've gotten another ten minutes of sleep. A sudden jerk out of the corner of her eye brought her out of her thoughts.

She looked up to find that the three boys in front of her were arguing about who the hottest girl in school was, well two of them were. The boy in front of her just seemed to be watching with little interest as they butted heads. It was almost comical watching them.

Perverts. She thought as she watched. She then heard the boy in front of her make a small comment of girls looks not mattering that it was their personality that really mattered. She was somewhat surprised when she found that one of the two rounded on him telling him that there looks were all that mattered.

Yep definitely perverts. She thought, her eyes drifting to the boys in front of her. Maybe with the exception of this one, but I doubt it. All men are pigs. She then recognized the one of the boys. He that was the jerk from this morning! She was about to get up and clobber him when Hikari's voice suddenly interrupted her.

"Hey Touji knock it off!" Hikari yelled.

Asuka turned her to where Hikari's voice was directed at to find that the "jerk from this morning" was getting so caught up in the argument and was standing on his desk yelling at Shinji the reasons looks only mattered.

Touji looked over at Hikari to find her glaring at him. "What's with the look rep?" He asked referring to the angry glare she was directing at him.

"For one thing you can't be standing on the desk like that and two I will NOT allow perverted comments like that to be thrown around!" She yelled.

Asuka looked over at Touji to find a sudden look of embarrassment appear on his face. "You heard that?" Hikari hardened her glare. Touji jumped down and sat down. "Sorry I guess I just got to caught up in the conversation." He said apologetically.

"Just don't say it again." She replied.

Asuka looked between them with confusion. Did I miss something? She thought.

The school bell suddenly rang signaling five minutes till start time. A line of kids began flowing into the classroom until slowly every seat was filled. Then another bell rang and Asuka watched as Hikari stood up and started class telling everyone to stand up, bow and sit.

"Alright as most of you have noticed we have a new student." She motioned everyone to where Asuka was sitting and then motioned her to stand up. "This is Asuka Langley Soryu." Asuka felt all eyes suddenly turn on her. "She has recently transferred her from Germany."

Asuka looked around the room to find, to her disgust, almost every boy wink at her or pretend to whistle at her. She felt her hands tighten. She really could not stand perverts. She had to force herself to not clobber every guy in her sight. She instead settled for another sharp, angry glare. Though it didn't really work. She felt her hands tighten tighter.

"Asuka will need a guide to help her find her way around the school are there any volunteers?" Hikari asked, she saw almost every guys hand shoot up into the air. Much to Asuka's disgust. Hikari looked around the room and overlooked every guy, knowing how bad each one was, and it was apparent that the girls really didn't care.

She sighed inwardly as she searched for an ideal candidate. Her eyes scanned the room avoiding the flailing arms of the boys until her eyes landed on just the perfect boy. Well, maybe not the perfect boy, but a one far better than most of the others. Not only that but she had a good feeling about the two of them though she didn't know why she just did.

"Shinji!" Hikari called, causing several groans to be heard throughout the classroom.

Shinji turned his head. "Yeah?" He asked apparently not really listening.

"Shinji could you please show Asuka around after school?" she asked.

"Yeah sure." He replied causing several more groans to be heard. He looked around him wondering why they were all groaning.

"Thank you Shinji." Hikari said. Shinji nodded. "You can sit down Asuka." Asuka obeyed.

After that class passed quite quickly and was uneventful for Asuka, the only things really bothering her were the stares of several guys, which she just returned with sharp glares, causing many to turn away quickly. Asuka smirked each time a guy turned. Well at least their starting to stop now. She thought.

She never could understand why most guys acted tough but when it really came down to it were complete cowards. She really hated guys like that. They almost bugged her as much as perverted ones, almost.

When the bell suddenly rang Asuka stood up quickly and bolted out of the room. Although the class had gone by rather fast she wasn't sure how much longer she could take the teachers boring lesson. That and the constant stares of all the guys, even though her glares were starting to work it was apparent that most couldn't resist to look at her and continued to stare at her. It infuriated her so much.

Once outside she looked around for a place to eat by herself, and found the place to be a lone tree several yards away from the main lunch area. She quickly walked over there before anyone else decided to steal it. Sitting down she leaned her head up against the tree for a second enjoying the shade it provided before pulling her pack to her and searched for her lunch.

After several seconds of searching she realized that her guardian, Misato, had forgotten to pack her lunch. She groaned and felt her stomach rumble. She patted her stomach as she leaned her head back against the tree. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her mind off her rumbling stomach, but to no avail.

I guess I really shouldn't of skipped breakfast. She thought.

For several minutes she tried to fight her increasing hunger until she felt a presence in front of her. Opening her eyes and swinging her head forward she met eyes with whoever was in front of her and was surprised to find that it was Shinji, his hand holding out a small plastic bowl a cover hiding the contents inside.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you, but I saw that you didn't have any food and I thought that you would like some of mine. I have an extra bowl so I though you would want it." Shinji said his voice somewhat shy and uncertain. He wasn't really sure she would believe him.

Asuka eyed him for a second not sure whether he was telling the truth. "Why would you do this? Trying to get some points with the new girl or are you trying to take advantage of the new girl by acting like some kind guy who later will try to make some moves on her?" she asked waiting for his reaction.

"No, no, no it's nothing like that, I just thought you were hungry and would like some food." He replied. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Asuka asked an eyebrow raised at him. "There is nothing to be sorry for. If you were really trying to do a good thing that is."

"I was really." He said sincerely.

"Okay then you have nothing to be sorry for." She replied before reaching out and taking the bowl. "And thank you."

He smiled a relieved smile at her. "You're welcome." He was about to turn and walk away when she called out to him.

"Hey who was this for anyway?" She asked.

"It was for one of my friends but Hikari had prepared food for him, so I decided that I should give it to you, seeing that you weren't eating." He replied.

Asuka gave him a suspicious look. "Were you watching me?"

Shinji shook his head quickly. "No!" He yelled a little louder than he wanted. He looked down out of embarrassment. "I mean no, I just looked over at the tree and I saw that you threw away your bag so I assumed that you had no food."

Asuka laughed at his reaction. "I'm just joking with you. You should learn to relax."

Shinji nodded. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing will you? There's nothing to be sorry for." She said. Shinji nodded his head. Asuka looked down at the bowl and opened the top and was surprised to have a mouth watering smell reach her nose. "This smells really good." She looked down at the combination of rice, beef, and vegetables and was surprised how good it looked.

Reaching into her bag she pulled out something Shinji had rarely seen in Japan, a fork. Well she is from Germany so it really shouldn't be all that surprising. He thought.

Asuka then dug her fork into the food and took a bite and looked up at Shinji. He looked at her worriedly.

"What is it not good?" He asked

Asuka didn't reply for a second and then shook her head. "No this is great! Who made it?" she asked stuffing her face.

"I-I did." Shinji replied.

Asuka looked at him with somewhat of a shocked look. "You seriously made this?" Shinji nodded. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Well my father really isn't home all that often so I kind of have to fend for myself, so I taught myself how to cook." He said shyly.

"Well it's very good."

"Thank you." He replied somewhat embarrassed.

"Hey why don't you join me for lunch?" She said motioning for him to sit next to her.

Shinji stared at her for a moment before walking over to her and sitting down. He then opened his own bag and pulled out his own lunch.

The two sat in silence as they ate, quietly enjoying there meals. The silence was only broken when Asuka finished hers and spoke, "Hey Shinji you wouldn't mind cooking for me would you? I'm afraid that my guardian doesn't cook so well, you have to have an iron stomach to with stand her cooking."

"Yeah, that's kind of how my father cooks when he's home." Shinji said. The two laughed lightly before Shinji's face saddened.

Asuka noticed this and said, "Hey don't worry about it, my guardian is gone for hours, even days at a time. It's nothing you need to be sad about. It's just something adults like to do for whatever reason."

"Yeah but you don't understand my father is almost never home, and when he is he's there for dinner or for a few minutes or something." Shinji said his look getting even sadder, but Asuka noticed his hands also tightening into fists. "He's gone for several days to weeks to even months at a time. He is never home."

Asuka looked away from him, understanding what he meant. "I know how you feel." She said quietly, Shinji almost didn't hear her.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Realizing he had heard her she replied, "Never mind just forget about." She looked back at him. "It's nothing."

"Okay." He replied deciding to respect her and not push the subject.

Another silence passed between the two, both not really knowing what to say. They stayed that way until the bell rang seemingly snapping them out of their silence.

"So will I see you after school?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah." She replied. She saw Shinji smile slightly.

"Okay bye." He said as he ran off toward "the jerk from this morning" and his other friend.

Asuka watched him go for a second before looking down at the plastic bowl in her hand. So maybe not all guys are jerks. She thought. She looked up from the bowl and walked toward the next class.

The day seemed to move much slower than both her first hour class, which was more like three classes crammed into one making it three and a half hours long, and lunch. She wasn't quite sure why it was moving so slowly, her only guess was that she wanted to get home badly or because if she listened to this teacher's lesson any longer she was gonna die. The only thing she knew was that the day was moving incredible slow. She had to stop herself from looking at her watch every five seconds.

Then an eternity later the bell finally rang and she nearly flew out of her seat heading towards the door. She walked down the hallway quickly and was about to walk out the door when she remembered that she had to meet Shinji. Turning on her heel she walked away from the door.

She walked back to her first hour class and found Shinji waiting for her. He gave her a polite wave. "So where are we going first?" She asked.

"Well there are only three main halls so I guess we can start with this one?" he said a little nervous.

Noticing the slight nervous tone in his voice Asuka asked, "Why are you nervous?"

Shinji looked back up at her somewhat surprised that she noticed. "Ummm because this is the first time I've done this so yeah." Asuka looked at him oddly but shook it off. "Anyways we should start."

For a half an hour Shinji lead Asuka down the hallways of the relatively small school, showing her the classrooms and places she might need to go to or use in the future. Such as the school office, newspaper, and supply store. As they toured the school the two struck up several conversations all of which helped Shinji get a little more relaxed around her. Although most of the conversations were a little one sided, mainly Shinji allowed Asuka talk barely saying any words himself, but the two seemed to enjoy their conversations regardless of how one sided it was.

Shinji walked with Asuka toward the school drop off zone, a bright red car seemingly waited for them. Asuka quickly recognized the car as Misato's and turned to Shinji, "Hey thanks for the tour." She said, waving, before walking off towards Misato's car.

Asuka opened the car door and sat inside, her purpled haired guardian looking at her. "So how was school?"

Asuka turned to her with a different demeanor than what she wore in the morning. Her eyes didn't look quite so dull. "It was fine. Although I found that my school is full of perverted and pig headed guys." She said irritated at the thought. "But other than that it was fine."

"Is that it?" Misato asked somewhat disappointed. Asuka nodded. Misato sighed inwardly. She had hoped Asuka met some people or made some friends, but apparently not. Misato looked back up at Asuka quickly scanning her eyes. But then why are her eyes brighter? She thought. She shook her head and decided not to dwell on it; after all it was only the first day of school.

Okay that ends chapter one. Now if anyone has any suggestions or constructive criticism for me it would be much appreciated, and if I'm moving to fast or something please tell me. Ok I'll try to get out the next chap as fast as I can unless I get lazy or something. Well until next time and CC is appreciated!